This invention relates to a fabric tape which has a construction particularly useful as the loop-part of a hook-and-loop fastener assembly. Such assemblies, also referred to as "touch fasteners", are used in many different applications to releasably hold two mating parts together. One application, used herein for purposes of illustration, is as an assembly for holding seat cover upholstery on a molded foam seat cushion, such as an automobile seat.
Typically, strips of material having stiff, upright hooks, are molded into a foam seat cushion in a particular pattern. See FIG. 4. These strips of hook material collectively determine the appearance of the seat once manufacture is complete by providing attachment points for the overlying upholstery. The attachment points give the appearance of separate cushions, pleats, tucks and similar features when the upholstery is pulled over the molded cushion.
This is accomplished by sewing together adjacent edges of the upholstery panels with an overlying length of looped fabric tape, thereby binding the seam. See FIGS. 2 and 3. The seams of the upholstery match the locations of the strips of hook material molded into the seat cushions. The loops project outwardly from the surface of the fabric tape. When the upholstery is pulled over the molded seat cushion, and the seams pressed inwardly against the strips of hook material, those portions of the seat upholstery are held in an inwardly-contoured configuration, giving the seat a sculptured, contoured look. See FIG. 5.
Prior art fabric loop tapes offer disadvantages, including high cost, corner buckling, thin, tear-prone loops and flat loops which are difficult for the hooks to grip, all of which reduce the effectiveness and efficiency with which the seats are manufactured. The invention described in this application is directed towards the solution of several of these problems, as described below.